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Morning Skate Update

The Dallas Stars will look to bounce back from Thursday’s season opening loss to Florida when they take on the Washington Capitals at American Airlines Center tonight.

The Stars hope to tighten things up defensively and better manage the puck tonight. They’ll also try to keep the Washington power play from getting on track.

“First and foremost, we have to stay out of the box. They’ve operated on a pretty high level on their power play,” said Stars coach Lindy Ruff. “We’d like to do a better job with the puck. I thought there were times the last game we were good and there were times we got a little bit careless.”

Washington’s power play has scored five times on nine opportunities in two games this season. It was the top ranked power play in the NHL last season.

“We’ve got to try to put some up-ice pressure and not let them set up in the zone. Once they set up in the zone they are very dangerous,” Stars defenseman Stephane Robidas said. “I think we’ve got to disrupt their flow. Whenever we can we’ve got to put pressure on and be aggressive, whenever a puck bounces we have to put pressure on, but we have to be smart at the same time.”

Peverley ready to go

Stars forward Rich Peverley will make his Dallas Stars debut tonight. Peverley, acquired from Boston in July, missed the season opener because of an irregular heartbeat, which he was diagnosed with just prior to training camp.

“It will be nice,” Peverley said. “I am part of a new organization and I haven’t been able to get in a game yet. It will be nice to get in a game, do the best I can and hopefully we can get a win.”

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club. Mark Stepneski is an independent writer whose posts on DallasStars.com reflect his own opinions and do not represent official statements from the Dallas Stars. You can follow Mark on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.